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Re: Edible street trees...what would you plant?

Hi Meg,
They have Seville orange trees as street trees (on either side of the
sidewalk, making an alle) in Claremont, Calif. Also, there are a number of
lemon trees as street trees in various parts of Berkeley, CA.
Elly


On Tue, 6 Jan 1998, Meg Vivers wrote:

> In Athens they have orange trees as street trees.
> 
> Meg
> 
> >I am looking for ideas for street trees.  I have a few thoughts already but
> >then I read books of unusual fruit/nut trees and come up with rare ones
> >that might work, so I thought I'd ask.  Also, some of the ones I'm
> >considering don't have enough info about them (that I can find anyway) to
> >tell me if they'd be a good choice.
> >
> >I live in Oakland, east of San Francisco.  I'm at the western foot of the
> >hills, just east enough to avoid a lot of the fog, but I don't get as much
> >heat as I did on the penisula (East Palo Alto).
> >
> >My street/sidewalk strip is 47 feet long and 5 feet, 4 inches deep.  It is
> >currently planted with lawn only.  The overhead wires are across the street
> >so I don't have to worry about them.  The site is on the east side of my
> >property and gets lots of sun.  I want the trees to provide some privacy
> >but not feel isolating like a shrub.  I want as little shade cast as
> >possible so I don't want the tree to be very tall (and dappled shade is a
> >plus).
> >
> >Here's what I'm looking for:
> >
> >        - 8-25 feet tall (10-15 feet is best)
> >        - appropriate for use as a street tree (no damage to sidewalk from
> >roots, no nasty falling things)
> >        - edible fruit or nuts
> >        - climate adapted; no watering after the first year
> >        - minimum litter, no sap (a quick fall leaf drop is okay)
> >        - pluses: not slow growing or slow bearing
> >
> >I've decided to put in two trees.  One will be a semi-drawf almond (Prunus
> >dulcis), either an All-in-One, a Garden Prince (if bigger than dwarf), or a
> >Hall's Hardy.
> >
> >I have rejected the following: Olive (I want one very very much but have
> >been convinced that the fruit drop on a street or sidewalk is not worth
> >it); Bay Laurel (I have one in a container and it will provide all my
> >cooking needs in a small space); Loquat (I was going to put one in at first
> >but the leaf drop is annoying and there are already many in my neighborhood
> >so I just have to make friends to get fruit).
> >
> >Here are ones I'm considering (or hoping might work):
> >        Jujube (Ziziphus Jujuba) but am worried about the root sucker
> >problems and the fact that it really needs cross pollination.
> >        Macadamia ...any chance of getting nuts with no summer watering?
> >It seems the tree itself will be okay without water, but not the harvest.
> >        Pistachio (Pistacia vera) will this be okay in this coastal
> >climate?  Are our summers hot enough?
> >        Filbert/Hazelnut (Corylus) this would be more shrub-like but
> >prunable to tree form.  Can I get nuts with just one plant? can I graft on
> >a second? plant 2 in one hole and get it to look nice?
> >
> >What others?  Even plants I've never heard of are fine (I'll try a
> >fruit/nut before buying).
> >
> >Thanks for any input.  Even if you can tell me, yes, I've seen X growing in
> >the Bay Area on the street, that would be great.
> >
> >Cyndi
> >_______________________________________________________________________________
> >Oakland, California            Zone 9 USDA; Zone 16 Sunset Western Garden Guide
> >Disabled, chemically sensitive, wheelchair user          Organic Gardening only
> >_______________________________________________________________________________
> >"There's nothing wrong with me.  Maybe there's                     Cyndi Norman
> >something wrong with the universe." (ST:TNG)                   cnorman@best.com
> >__________________________________________________ http://www.best.com/~cnorman
> 
> Meg Vivers
> 
> Administrative Officer
> School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences
> The University of New England
> Armidale, N.S.W., 2351, Australia
> Phone (02) 6773 2148
> Fax (02) 6773 3312
> 
> 
>
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